Wide Angle 'Converter' or 'Adapter'?
 

I'm looking for a wide angle lens for my PDX, and am not sure what, if anything, is the diffrerence between a "converter" and an "adapter." I want something that will still allow me to utilize the full zoom range, and I've mostly seen this associated with the "converter". Is that the difference?

I'd greatly appreciate a suggestion on a good/economical WA lens.

Michael

Does this mean that nobody else knows either, or that it's just a silly question? :-)

I think of an adaptor as something that makes two things fit together (by going between them), while a converter is something that changes the ability of one thing to fit with another.
What the marketing departments of various lens producing companies believe may be something else entirely.

I don't think there's any difference. Either way it's an add-on lens that attaches in front of the existing one. Just two different names for the same thing. I got one from a company called "digital" which is a .45x wide adaptor and seems pretty nice, although I've never shot a test shot with it. It has an interesting feature; unscrew the front element and it becomes a macro lens. It also has 48mm threads on the front to accept filters.

Michael

You want a "w/a converter", I use this on my VX2000 and hardly ever remove it. Have you any experience with a trv950? We use three VX's to video fireworks shows and are looking for something smaller that has three chips to maximize color. We intend to use these as backups.

Thanks

Bob

Thanks Bob. Which w/a converter do you have for your VX?

I haven't used the TRV950, but it is very similar to my PDX10. I think the only significant differences are DVCAM format, "true" 16:9, and the included XLR adapter.

Michael

Michael

We use Canon WD-58 w/a lenses, screw-on with a lens cover that fits snug. They are zoom thru and have been very sharp for us in all instances. It seems everyone is interested in how much zoom a camera comes with, sometimes, my biggest problem is getting back far enough to get the shot I want, this lens works well for us. The TRV 950 seems pretty hard to get out here in California.

Good Luck

Bob

Boyd- What wide angle did you get, and what did it cost? I liked the ability to do macro! Let me know how the lens works :)

On the box it says:

Digital Optics
0.45x
Night Vision High Resolution
Video Recording
Item #7401T-37

Subjectively I like the results but haven't done any tests with a resolution chart. You get a bit of barrel distortion at full wide zoom, but no vignetting. Personally I sort of like that look in panoramic shots, where the horizon curves a bit, especially for 16:9. But I guess that's a personal preference. If you use the additional wide lens hood that Sony supplies with the PDX-10 it works great, still no vignetting at full wide.

It has 49mm filter threads on the front. I picked up an ND filter and UV filter for it; don't use a filter between the camera lens and the wide adaptor because then it does vignette, although not enough to show in the viewfinder (which I learned the hard way after making some shots where I needed the full frame).

I haven't really used the macro feature, except to look through the viewfinder and note that it worked at close range. I don't have the exact cost handy, but probably didn't get that good of a deal really. It was in the neighborhood of $100-$120 however.